It's a Wonderful Life?
by Mystic25
Summary: Christmas – Dark Angel Style. Set in Season One.
1. Chapter 1

"It's a Wonderful Life?"

AUTHOR: Mystic25

SUMMARY: Christmas – Dark Angel Style. Set in Season One.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: To all those waiting for the next chapter of "Choices" and "Less Then Human" I have two words for you: 'wait longer' haha…kidding…put down those rocks. I'm sooo full of ideas for completing my chapters that when I write them down I'm having a hard time trying to get it all in order so that it makes sense. Translation: Choices will be loong, most like in 2 parts, which I WILL post at the same time so I don't get hate mail. And note Sammie: pleeease don't sic the hounds on me for the long beta you'll be receiving…now onto author's note 2…

AUTHOR'S NOTE #2: I made it a thing to do a Christmas fanfic every year after getting good reviews the first time I attempted it. I missed last year so this is my make-up blowout. Also a lot of holiday fanfic floating around there seems to me to be so over flowing with sap that I needed a break from it. And to all of the DA fanfic authors who write holiday fluff – I'm hiding securely behind Zack's nicely chiseled body, you can't touch me.

XXXXXXXXXXX

JAM PONY

6:15 PM

CHRISTMAS EVE

"All right listen up reprobates-" Normal approached the crowd of messengers that were currently ignoring their boss and engaged in the meaningful task of watching Sketchy down an entire gallon of eggnog.

Sketchy – for his part – was more then two thirds of the way through with the thick milky drink, despite the fact that he was about to heave a noxious liquid into the almost empty bottle. He finished off the bottle to the sounds of the cheering group of his peers. He raised the empty bottle above his head like a trophy, glorifying his triumphant completion of the beverage.

"Enough celebration idiot," Normal said snippily, trying very hard not to let his eyeballs roll into his skull at the feeble minds he had been forced to hire. "If any of that eggnog winds up coming back up out of your cake hole you'll be out of here so fast it'll leave a mark."

"Relax Normal," Sketchy soothed, swaying slightly like a drunkard at the way the eggnog was settling in his stomach. "I am the master at holding down my holiday beverage."

"Give your sales pitch somewhere else and get back to work," Normal clapped his hands like he was dismissing a band of wayward children. "Let's go, if you low lifes' want any time off for the holidays you better start showing me you deserve it."

"I think we just got dismissed," Cindy stated in an annoyed complaint. She was speaking to Max who was standing next to her – pack strapped to her back – watching Normal storm back to his desk like some incredibly hot woman had just denied him sex on the justification that he wasn't a man.

"At what's worse is that it came from _Normal_," Max shared her friend's irritated view on their boss. "The man really knows hot to put a soft spot in the hearts of his employees on Christmas Eve."

"I'd like to put a soft spot on _him_," Cindy threatened. "It's bad enough we gotta shuttle our asses on Christmas Eve without his White boy tirade as background music until we kick outta here."

"For real girl," Max agreed whole-heartedly. "I think in another 20 minutes it'll be in our own best self interest to get the hell up outta here."

"Fraternize on your own time ladies, you're idling away company time!" Normal called out them from behind his desk where he was furiously digging under a pile of papers for something that seemed completely unfindable judging by the cursing coming from under his breath. "Bip, bip, bip!"

"I think we should skip out now, Cindy informed after Normal was done with them for the time being. "Cause I got a whole line of things I could do besides watching an anal man scratch himself."

"Did I hear you two discussing plans to ditch work early?" Sketchy was starting to look ill from the effects of way too much eggnog drunk way too fast. He leaned on the handlebars of his bike that use to be blue chrome, but was now patched with orange rust. "I tell you it's sneaky, underhanded ideology that will land you in the dog house with Normal – that is why I'm begging you to take me with you." He adopted a puppy dog look on his face.

"Boy you've got two functional legs," Cindy notified. "If you're set in gettin' a life do it yourself and stop moochin' of a sista girl."

"But my functional legs aren't as nice as your functional legs," Sketchy said straight out, checking out Cindy's legs hidden underneath a pair of parachute material gray drawstring pants.

"Get away from me fool before one of Original Cindy's functional legs kicks you down under!" Cindy threatened shoving Sketchy off of her when he took it upon himself to get into her personal space. She sighed under her breath. "Some Christmas huh?"

"I resent the implications of that remark," Sketchy informed, returning to leaning on his bike and not Cindy. "I mean if it wasn't so true." He paused, about to go into one of his banters on how The Man was keeping the working class down. "Let's face it, Christmas is just another time of year for the upper echelons of society to rub it in every else's faces that they have nothing."

"Sketchy you need to lay off the tainted eggnog," Cindy told him straight out. "Cause it is clouding your mind."

"Do you have somewhere Hallmark worthy to be tonight?" he asked.

"No," Cindy told him flatly. "But that doesn't mean you have to trash the one day I have off all year." She hadn't celebrated Christmas since she left home at 17, but it still was a holiday she respected because her Grandmother loved it so much. She would always make so much extra turkey that they would wind up throwing most of it out but it was still a day that Cindy enjoyed.

She turned to Max. "Christmas is a time for peeps to get together and reflect on all things, right boo?"

"I have no idea," Max stated truthfully causing Cindy to give her a quizzical look.

"What does that mean?" Cindy asked.

"I've never celebrated Christmas," Max answered suddenly feeling awkward for admitting that as an adult she had never once even strung lights on a tree.

"You Jewish or something?" Sketchy asked, his arm now resting above his head on a square concrete support column in the middle of the room. "Because if there's this special sect of hot mommy Hispanic Jewish people I could really start getting into Chanukah."

"I'm not even gonna begin' to point out everything that's wrong with that remark," Cindy insisted knocking Sketchy upside the head in her mind. But Max's remark had floored her as well. Not that celebrating Christmas was a requirement of life, but the way Max had vocalized it sounded like she was someone who had missed out on the holiday not by choice. "You tellin' me boo that you're momma never even took you to a department store to see displays you never hafta worry about puttin' up?"

Cindy didn't mean anything by it, not knowing about Max's past history at Manticore. But it made Max think again about her mom, and all she had learned from Hannah. "I never knew my mother."

Cindy's jaw about dropped to the floor. "Girl are you frontin'?"

Max couldn't believe she had just said that out loud. She had just wanted to skip off early from work and grab a bite of whatever Kendra had managed to cook on their barely functional stove, maybe even have a few choice drinks at Crash, but now Cindy and Sketchy were looking at her with such confusion turned to compassion that she knew she wasn't going anywhere soon.

"She was a teenager where I was born, forced to give me up. I was raised in foster homes, nothing to glamorous, a few of them scary so I split. Why do you think I moved in with Kendra?" a pause as Max realized with unmistakable clarity that she was putting herself on the path of sympathetic hugs and hand holds. "But the streets didn't turn me out too badly did they?"

"No boo," Cindy stated in all earnesty after listening to the revelation her girl had just dumped on her. "You're a testament to what they turn out."

"Thanks." Max smiled in genuine appreciation at Cindy's complement. It was one of the many reasons she was her one of her tightest friends. She had this way of keeping it real that Max totally respected. There was an awkward silence between the three adults for a second and Max was wishing for nothing more then an air raid siren to go off outside so she wouldn't have to reveal any more about a past she would rather not have glorified with 'it'll be okay' speeches.

She was graced with divine luck a few seconds later when the familiar incessant beeping of her pager cut through the dead air. She checked the Motorola display seeing the string of familiar numbers.

"I gotta take this," Max tried to keep the relief out of her voice as she walked over to the ancient black rotary dial pay phone Normal made all his runners use. Though there was a perfectly functioning modern era telephone sitting on his desk Normal guarded it like a hidden treasure. None of his employees were allowed to come within fifty feet of it unless they showed him the bleeding stump where their arm used to be and demanded an ambulance ride to the hospital.

Max normally complained about the phone situation. But today she was so thankful for the distraction from the conversation that she kept her mouth shut and dialed the number with the end of a broken pencil.

"That's kinda sad stuff," Sketchy said in a low voice after Max went to make her call. "I never even knew that Max was in the system."

"It's probably DL cause she didn't want us to know," Cindy informed beside him in a voice as every bit as hushed as his. Cindy wasn't one who cared what kind of life her friends came out of; so long as they didn't play her she left their past alone. But hearing Max's glimpsing story of her past made her hurt for her home girl.

"That kinda sad story past isn't something you just talk about over a beer," Cindy went on, dropping the conversation a minute later when Max came back over to the lockers.

"Gonna take the advice of my home girl and kick outta here early," Max announced. She had heard snatches of Cindy and Skethcy's conversation but she wasn't going to comment on it. She felt bad enough for eaves dropping without shooting her mouth off about what she heard.

"Was that your squeeze that called?" Cindy asked.

"Yeah," Max responded positively but then corrected Cindy on her title for Logan a second later. "But he's not my 'squeeze'." She ignored Cindy's 'uh huh' look. "He wanted me to stop by for a while and hang."

"Forget a while boo, you should think about crashing for the night," Cindy had been nagging Max about her relationship with Logan for so long that it had become an art form. Each time she hoped that her wordplay would get her friend to just step to the real and consummate with the boy.

As usual Max blew of Cindy's remark. She and Logan didn't have the kind of relationship that warranted activity under the sheets. "I gotta blaze," she said simply turning to head up the ramp that led out of Jam Pony. She stopped walking and turned back a second later to face her friends. "Whatever covert idea you're planin' on hitting me with to make up for lost Christmases boo – keep it outta the range of Santa suits and male strippers." She smiled to herself at the way Normal squirmed at her mentioning male strippers out loud. She headed up out of Jam Pony to where she had parked her bike.

The black saddle seat of the Ninja was cold to the touch. It had been sitting out in the 46-degree weather for hours with no tarp to keep out the wind. Max straddled the seat, shivering for a moment at the feeling of cold metal coming through her jeans. If Cindy really wanted to give her something for Christmas tomorrow she'd settle on tarp to cover her bike so it wouldn't feel like she sitting on ice every time she rode.

The long stretch of highway was even colder then at Jam Pony. Because Max had the bike up to 95 mph the wind steadily whipped at her face, sucking all the moisture out of her lips, making her wish she could reach her lip balm in her jacket pocket. The overpass was unusually clogged with cars filled with people all trying to get somewhere for Christmas. Max expertly weaved in and out of the vehicles ignoring the people's honking and lewd remarks. She had somewhere to get to as well; and what was point of having a bike with 650 cc's if you couldn't stretch her legs?

She finally reached the sector checkpoint to Sector Nine, the gateway to the high-rise district where Logan lived. The crowd of cars had thinned out to expensive BMW's and Lexus's. Max slowed the Ninja down to a crawl and handed her pass to the Sector Cop when he shoved his hand in her face demanding it.

"You seem a long way from home," the Sector Cop noted examining her Class 4 Sector Pass, the second most basic level pass you could get. All it basically allowed was for someone to live in the city without being arrested.

"I'm visiting a friend," Max told him flatly, holding her gloved hand out to get back her pass from the prick in a uniform.

The cop didn't hide his wandering roam over the 'V' her legs made straddling the Ninja's saddle seat. "I'm sure your 'friend' doesn't want to wait too long for such fine goods," He got right up in her face.

Max could feel him sniffing her neck and she was disgusted and repulsed. "Sorry, sniffing on the job is against regulations."

The cop pulled back from her retort, angry. It was an unspoken rule that Checkpoint Sector Cops could get away with whatever B.S. they wanted to so long as they still did their job. And Max's remark wasn't playing well with this cop's understanding of that rule. "How the hell can a bombshell cock sucker like you have such a big mouth?"

"The same way you do Officer," Max threw back with a voice as hard as steel. She wanted this looser pimp wanna-be to back up off her. "Also I'd like my pass back if you're done fondling it."

The Cop lost his temper and knocked Max across the face with his nightstick. Max had cat-like reflexes so she managed to duck away in time to not receive the full force of the blow. But the stick caught the top of her forehead near her hairline and she felt a thin trickle of warm blood flow down her right cheek a second later.

The cop didn't even flinch after he'd dealt her the assault and held her Sector Pass in front of her face. "Here ya go little lady. Happy Holidays." Each word was punctuated with a lewd sneer.

"Same to you," Max said snatching her pass from him. She punched him right in the crotch with one fist. The cop screamed like a girl, grunted and fell onto the wet pavement grabbing at his balls with both hands.

Max gunned the engine of her bike, maneuvering around the man writing at her tires. She passed through to Sector Nine, ignoring the shouts made by the Cop's partner to tell her to stop.

XXXXXXX

FOGLE TOWERS

SECTOR NINE

6:55 PM

"Damnit!" Logan cursed when the long chain of white lights he had just plugged succeeded in coming on for three seconds and popping a second later, short-circuiting. Logan continued to say a few choice obscenities as he went through the annoying task of finding the one single bulb in the whole chain that had caused the lights to fail. He set the brakes on his wheelchair, placed a section of the Christmas lights in his lap and started meticulously inspecting each bulb for the elusive burned out one. After repeating this task for endless minutes he finally found the one stupid bulb that was causing the Christmas blackout. He removed the tiny plastic thing and replaced it with a spare that he unearthed from the box he kept his old decorations in.

The lights all blinked to life the second the new bulb was in, like nothing had ever gone wrong. "I think the guy that invented these lights did that on purpose just to laugh at people every year."

"Isn't holiday decorating supposed to be a relaxing occasion?" the voice of Bling – Logan's physical therapist and friend – trailed ahead of him as he came into the living room sipping on a cup of coffee. One of the benefits of working for a wealthy client was that he could score premium coffee that had long ago disappeared off the mainstream market. Logan seemed to have connections with everyone, including coffee producers.

"An Eyes Only meeting with a group of radical militants would be more relaxing then this," Logan insisted, removing the pile of lights from his lap and setting them down on the hardwood floor next to a 4 ft imitation Spruce pine. He had this tree for over 11 years and had thought about getting a new one for a while. But after the Pulse happened getting a new Christmas tree was pushed to the back of his 'To Do List'.

Logan released his chair brakes and wheeled himself closer to Bling observing the steam rising from the ash blue coffee mug in his hands. "Do you always make it a point to knock on your employer's private stash?"

"This is just part of my payment," Bling stated, shifting the mug to cradle it in both hands. "And personally I don't want to know that my employer _has_ a private stash of anything." He set his mug on Logan's low black lacquer coffee table. He stood back up silently, observing Logan like he was about to say something but didn't know if it would lead to snippish remark Logan was famous for. But he decided a moment later to shove Logan's snippiness and go for it. "Does this sudden interest in Christmas decorating have anything to do with a certain good looking female that frequents here?"

"You're not getting paid to be elusive Bling," Logan reminded. He never liked being the center of conversation, especially not concerning his relationship with women. Bling had been messing with him about Max ever since he had met her. He was Logan's version of Original Cindy. "If you wanted to ask me if my deciding to finally put up an artificial Christmas tree that's been gathering dust in my storage closet for five years has anything to do with Max you should come right out and say it."

"Seems to me you already did," Bling said jokingly watching Logan shoot him an annoyed look. But again he didn't care. Logan was always one to voice his complaints rather loudly, but he was a still a good guy. "Not like it's anything to be ashamed of. Max is a dynamite woman." He was secretly enjoying watching Logan squirm.

"But she's not _my_ woman," Logan insisted becoming increasingly uncomfortable at the turn the conversation was taking. "She's a friend, and I'm not about to dehumanize her by using Neanderthal language to describe what she means to me."

"Logan come off it. The First Lady of the United States is referred to as the President's woman, and she considers it a compliment and calls him _her_ man."

"Well I'm not the President," Logan returned. "And I'm also not liking the way this conversation is headed so could we please drop it?"

A hint of a smile played at Bling's lips. He had Logan cornered. He may never admit his real feelings for Max but it didn't take a genius to realize that she was more then just a 'friend' to him. "Alright man I'm sorry. When Max gets here I won't say a word when you two decide to get '_friendly' _with each other."

"Knock knock," Max's voice filtered across the living room seconds after Bling finished his sentence.

"Speak of your woman," Bling said quietly and ignored the glare Logan gave him.

Max strolled casually into the living room, an action she had done dozens of times. She was as comfortable at Logan's as she was at her own house. "So what's the deal with blowing up my pager?" the remark was directed at Logan.

"Well I just thought I'd get you over here to-" Logan broke off and stared at Max's face.

"To what?" Max cut in, waiting for him to continue. "If you want to have your way with me you need to elaborate more."

"What happened up there?" he nodded with his chin, to draw attention to the small clump of matted blood at Max's hairline.

Max touched her fingers to the spot Logan was indicating. She had almost forgotten the wound was there. It had smarted for a few minutes after she had left the idiot Sector Cop in the dust. The stinging pain was gone now, and besides a dull headache she felt perfectly fine. "This Cop decided to play ass whomping at the Sector Nine checkpoint, only nobody told me." Max traced her hand down the side of her cheek and realized that the blood trail she felt earlier was still there.

"He roughed you up pretty hard?" Logan asked, though it wasn't a passive question. He was staring to get mad thinking of some jerk-off knocking on a woman.

"Logan the guy was a poor pimp and an even poorer fighter," Max stated matter-of-fact. "_He's _the one who got roughed up pretty hard, I just got in the way of his nightstick." She could see that her last statement didn't do anything to ease Logan's consciousnesses about what happened to her, but it really wasn't that big of a deal.

"Getting knocked in the head is no small deal Max," Bling seemed to be able to read her mind and disagree with it. "Did you loose consciousness at all?"

"Thankfully no," Max told him flatly. "Lying at the feet of a perverted chump wasn't exactly the best place for things to all go dark."

"Did he try anything else after you left?" Logan asked with what sounded suspiciously like protection in his voice.

"Yeah he tried to ease the pain in his nuts by groping them," Max stated.

Both Bling and Logan winced at hearing what Max had inflicted upon the cop, but neither of them thought it was a wrong move.

"Well it looks like you gave him his Christmas present early, so how about I give you yours early and bandage that wound?" Bling put a bit of cheer in his voice but he was still pissed at the audacity of Sector Cops thinking they were above human decency, especially when it came to a friend.

"Sterile gauze and first aid tape, you really know how to treat a girl right on the holidays Bling," Max smiled good-naturedly at Bling's offer.

Bling returned the smile. "Why don't you make yourself comfortable, let Logan give you some of his gentlemanly hospitality and I'll get the supplies." He let his words hang in the air for a few seconds and then headed towards Logan's bathroom before either of them got the chance to comment about his remark.

After Bling was out of sight Max turned towards Logan, still wanting an answer from him. "You never did tell me the reason for callin' me over."

"It's not an monumental earth shattering reason," Logan insisted, thinking that even with the dried blood on her face she still looked stunningly beautiful. "I just thought – well I was actually hopping that you would maybe like to spend Christmas with me tomorrow."

"Logan Cale, protector of downtrodden is inviting me over to participate in a glorified day off?" Max's eyebrow rose.

"Even the downtrodden take time for Christmas Max," Logan said. He figured this kind of reaction from her. Max had a personality that could switch from childlike wonder to barricaded tough ass female depending on the situation she was faced with. "I just thought it'd be a welcomed change to spend the holidays with people I actually _want_ to be around instead of my Aunt Margo and her stuffy friends."

"So I'm the only person you want to be around for Christmas?" Max asked a loaded question and

Logan knew it.

"No – I mean, yes, well actually not just you. I was thinking that if Cindy and Kendra weren't doing anything tomorrow they could come too." He was a grown man, but right now he felt like a pubescent teenager again. And Max's dark chocolate eyes on his weren't helping.

"A full blown rich liberal white guy partay?" Max put some mirth into her voice to let him know she was teasing. "Who would miss that?"

"I'm not exactly going to hire waiters and serve canapés," Logan stated honestly. "It's just one of those times in this short brutal life to seize the opportunity to celebrate." He paused feeling like he just asked her to go to the junior high formal. "So will you come?"

"All day?" Max asked, a smile already forming at the way Logan was getting uncomfortable. _He'd be cute if he wasn't a grown man, but that's not cute damnit that's sexy._

"Just say 'yes' girl before Logan has a heart attack," Bling's voice entered the mix as he remerged in the living room carrying a white plastic First-Aid box by the handle in his hands.

Max turned to Bling like he was a disobedient child. "How long does it take to get a first aid kit?"

Bling looked at her sheepishly, but then it faded away and was replaced by adult honesty. "I thought I'd let you two finish your conversation in private."

"Yeah and I've got a nice Needle in Sector Three to sell ya," Max deadpanned.

Bling smiled which ended up being more of a muted laugh. He set the first aid kit down on the coffee table and popped the plastic lid up. Rows of supplies were revealed – gauze, bandages, ointments and even a bottle of unopened Tryptophane pills from a pharmaceutical company that Max had never heard off.

"I have this friend with a seratonin deficiency," Logan said when he caught Max glancing at the meds. She smiled in return at his humor, and there was also a bit of something that looked like gratitude behind her eyes.

Bling remained silent and pulled out a package of gauze a small tube of antibiotic ointment, and a plastic bag of butterfly bandages. "The cut doesn't look too deep, a few butterfly bandages should do the trick." He opened the pack of gauze. "Take a seat Max so I can get up in your face."

"Only you could get away with that Bling," Max returned lightly and slid into the empty spot beside Bling on Logan's black leather sofa.

"Somehow I doubt that," Bling returned glancing sideways at Logan. He dipped the gauze into a bottle of water he had filled in the bathroom and wiped away all the matted blood from Max's face and hairline. She winced at the first bit of contact from the cold water. "Sorry," he apologized.

"You would stop if you're sorry," Max kidded, bearing the little bit of unpleasantly as Bling flushed out all the dry blood from the area. When he was finished he squirted a bead of ointment on a clean Q-Tip and applied it to the laceration. He talked as he did this part. "So Max, my friend Logan over there would really enjoy himself if you were able to come over tomorrow."

He laughed mentally at the glare Logan gave him. But it wasn't like he didn't want this.

Max glanced at Logan, thinking for a moment. _Couldn't hurt. It's not like I don't have other plans except lowering my bike's gear ratios a few more notches. She'll understand if I cancel that date._ "I think I could go for something like that," she finally said as Bling started applying the butterfly bandages one at a time with a pair of tweezers. "What time are the festivities?" this remark was directed at Logan.

Logan couldn't believe that Bling had intervened for him like it was a game of having your best friend ask a girl out for you when you were twelve.But despite all that was reminiscent of his junior high school years, Logan had gotten what he wanted. "6:00. I thought we'd get started early to avoid any confrontations with Sector Cops about breaking curfew. I'd say you've had enough of that already." He watched Bling smooth the last bandage down across Max's hairline.

"Done," Bling studied his handiwork for a moment. "You need to keep the area dry so be careful when you take a shower, also call me if you have any sudden pain or unusual drowsiness. And I want to see you in three days for a wound check."

"Whatever ya say Doc," Max returned, standing up from the couch. "Thanks for the free medical care."

"Anytime," Bling returned with a smile.

Max turned to Logan. "So I'll see ya at six?"

"Yeah," Logan agreed still finding it hard to take his eyes of her. She had such a natural grace that he found irresistibly appealing. "Be careful going home. No doubt that jerk-off who tried to take a run at you will want to come back for seconds."

"I can manage one jerk-off," Max reassured. "Besides I've got plans tomorrow and I'm not gonna let one looser put a damper on that." She hit Logan with a rare, full-fledged smile that let him know she was touched by his concern but didn't take anything away from her ability to take care of herself.

Logan returned the smile, knowing that he would catch heat from Bling as soon as Max left but he didn't give a damn. His blue eyes casually followed her as she headed out the door of his apartment.

Once the door closed with a soft 'click' Logan swiveled his chair around and caught Bling's satisfied look. "Just shut up and help me finish decorating the damn tree." He wheeled himself back over to the bare Christmas tree.

Bling chuckled to himself. _If these two aren't involved then Max's friend Original Cindy is going to hook up with me tomorrow._


	2. Chapter 2

XXXXXXX

SECTOR FIVE

MAX AND KENDRA'S APARTMENT

"Kendra would you stop theorizing, it's not a big deal." Max complained wheeling her bike into its normal position by the crank windows of their living room. She released the kickstand and let the Ninja rest on it's own, removing her blue fleece hoody and throwing it on the tan colored sofa behind her. All the time she was doing these things she avoided Kendra's eyes, not wanting to get into a deal with her roommate about Logan. She was beginning to wish she hadn't told her about what had happened, even though her bandaged forehead was blatant evidence of it.

"C'mon Max," Kendra wasn't buying Max's words. Her long platinum blonde ponytail brushed against her royal purple argyle sweater as she made her way over to Max. "You got knocked around by a lame slime ball cop and then Logan saw you in pain and got enraged at some idiot having touched you. It's classic." Her voice was lost in a sea of romantic possibilities.

"I wasn't in pain girl," Max insisted dragging her friend back down to the real world. "He barely touched me. And Logan was doing what he always does, bein' way too over anxious about the situation."

"Which is _so_ romantic," Kendra stated her eyes adapting a dreamy look on that. She all but clasped her hands together and sighed. "Oh come off it Max. I would give _anything_ to have such a sweet charismatic guy be head over heals for me."

"Logan and I aren't even like that," Max reminded heading into the kitchen to warm up a cup of coffee in the microwave. "He's my friend, not my squeeze."

"Fine," Kendra said finally. "If you want to keep how hot and heavy you and Logan are a secret, go ahead. At least you have someone to be with during Christmas." Kendra leaned up against their rusted white knock off brand stove watching Max set a white mug of the morning's coffee in the microwave to reheat.

"It's just like any other day," Max said dryly. "People make this whole big deal out of Jesus being born, but when you go to the stores Santa Claus and fuzzy elves are on all the wrapping paper and cute little figurines, and Mary and Jesus are lucky if they get something better then a fake looking manger scene."

"Max I love you, but I'm not going to let your cynicism ruin my holiday spirit," Kendra stated a bit bubbly, but in a controlled adult way, not the giggly teenager way. "And thanks to your wonderful rich boyfriend I actually have plans for Christmas that take me outside of this hovel."

Max pulled out the coffee and dumped three spoonfuls of sugar into the blackness not commenting.

Kendra watched her for a long while, silently, tilting her head as if she was observing a painting.

Max caught her staring at her. "What?"

"Do you own anything other then jeans?" Kendra asked finally.

"Do I need too?" Max asked, confused at Kendra suddenly asking her about her taste in clothes. She carried her mug out to the living room and sat down on edge of the sofa to drink it. "What's wrong with the way I dress?" She looked down at her well-worn low-rise jeans, suddenly feeling like she had to defend herself.

"Nothing," Kendra insisted walking over to the couch and sitting down beside Max. "If I was graced with a body like yours I would be pulling off those 'street, with style looks' you do everyday. It's just that Christmas is a time when you might want to decide to show off some of those guns you keep hidden in your jeans."

Max finally knew where this was going. "Kendra, you're my girl but I'm _not_ getting into some slinky red Mrs. Clause it ain't outfit you got stashed in your closet tomorrow."

"C'mon," Kendra was practically begging. "I've never even _seen_ you in a skirt Max. You have dynamite legs and you need to show them off for your boy."

"First off, Logan is _not_ my boy. And second my legs kick ass not blow things up."

Kendra sighed, dropping her head down in frustration. "Max you are so hard headed." She was about to give up hope when she remembered something. "Wait you _do _have something smoking gun worthy in your closet. A 'not Mrs. Clause in a million years' dress I saw by your jacket."

"What dress?" Max asked, confused. She didn't own a dress. Unless Kendra meant – _Oh shit she can't mean-_

"I know it's in here," Kendra was now in the only closet in the apartment where she and Max kept all their clothes. She rifled around for a moment before unearthing something that Max forgot she had and wanted to never see again. "For someone who likes the down to earth look you sure like to hide a bombshell."

Max groaned inwardly. Kendra was holding up the dark fire engine red halter-top number that Max had stolen off the girl in the bathroom before meeting up with Bruno Anselmo. The dress was too slinky in her books; she looked like a well-paid hooker. Memories of the comments she got flashed in her mind.

"_Girl you work that dress."_

"You would set fire to this thing hun," Kendra's comment was completely honest and completely serious as she removed the dress from the wooden hanger it was on.

"Kendra it's _freezing _outside," Max reminded. "If I wore that thing outside I'd _need_ to set fire to it just to keep warm. And plus how I would I get to Logan's in that? I don't have a car; I drive a motorcycle. You can't drive a motorcycle in a short city dress."

"It's not _that_ short," Kendra stated looking at the hem of the dress and then looking at Max as if she were measuring the hem length on her in her mind. "It's got this long drapey part in the skirt so you can move and plus this short area's gotta come only an inch or two above your knees." She sounded like a kid wanting to make up her older sister for the prom.

"I'm going over to Logan's because he asked me over for dinner." Max eyed the dress warily. "If I show up wearing _that_ what it's gonna implicate?"

"That's the whole point," Kendra said with way too pleasing of a smile on her face.

This time Max's groan was audible. "Please don't turn this into a deal where I wind up comin' back home in rumpled clothes." She stood up from the sofa and took the dress from Kendra like it was a live hand grenade. "I'm _not_ wearin' this okay? Whatever you think my relationship with Logan is I don't wanna degrade it by laying all my stuff bare for him to see like it's free candy."

"Okay okay," Kendra finally gave in. "You've got a point," Her voice was despondent as she eyed the dress. "It would've been pure gold to see the look on Logan's face though when you walked in wearing this."

Max put her hand on her friend's shoulder apologetically. "Sorry girl. If it'll make you feel any better I'll still wear red."

Kendra laughed quietly and Max was just glad that the matter was dropped, for now.

XXXXXXXX

SECTOR FIVE  
MAX AND KENDRA'S APARTMENT

CHRISTMAS DAY

5:15 PM

"Max hurry up, we've got four sector stops to get through!" Kendra called out. She checked her Purple faced knock off Seiko watch and sighed. For someone who only wore jeans Max took a long time to dress.

A knocking on the door broke Kendra out of her thoughts and she went to go answer it.

"Merry Christmas sugah," Original Cindy greeted at the door.

"Same to you hun," Kendra replied warmly accepting the quick hug Cindy offered. She couldn't help admiring Cindy's attire as she stepped inside the apartment. "You're looking worthy to be hooked up with." Cindy was wearing a pair of velvet flair pants topped with a dark blue off the shoulder butterfly sleeved blouse. Her hair was done up in corn rows and it showed off the plain black choker around her neck

"You are too boo," Cindy returned the compliment for Kendra's white plunging V neck blouse and red and white plaid A-line skirt that ended a good two-and-a-half inch above the knee above her black stiletto boots. "You lookin' to hook up with one of Logan's rich white boy friends?"

Kendra laughed. "Logan's only inviting his therapist Bling. And he's as far away from a white boy as you can get."

Cindy laughed quietly too. "So where's the third member of our entourage?"

"In lockdown," Kendra answered. "I swear she takes forever and only has a few things to wear."

"Girl's gotta look good," Cindy insisted.

"But she _always_ looks good," Kendra stated. "It's not like she needs to add to anything."

"Thanks for the compliment," Max said, finally having emerged from her bedroom.

Cindy and Kendra's eyes about popped out of their head when they saw her.

"Dayum girl," was all Original Cindy could get out as she watched Max walk over to them in a plunging red halter dress covered with a thin spider wed of black lace. Underneath Max was wearing a pair of black leather boot cut pants over two inch black platform boots. She had wet her hair down and gelled it so the curls remained relaxed "Look at you macked out to the nines." Cindy could not believe how incredibly hot her boo looked.

And Kendra couldn't believe that the dress Max had had a tirade about wearing looked so damn good on her. The dress was short enough so that it the look of it over the pants was sleek and sexy not awkward like a long gown over a pair of spandex pants.

Both Kendra and Cindy were out of things to say as they watched Max pull on her leather jacket and grab the keys to her bike. Max had compromised with the pants over the dress so she could drive her Ninja without fear of the dress riding up her ass and giving everyone a view. She turned to her two friends. "Shall we ladies?"

She had already set her Ninja downstairs and headed out of the apartment. Cindy and Kendra came out of their trance and followed soon after.

"Someone's lookin' to get laid tonight," Kendra said once Max was safely out of range.

"Mmhmm," Cindy agreed whole-heartedly.

XXXXXX

FOGLE TOWERS

5: 55 PM

Logan checked the time on the eight-pound chicken he had roasting in the oven. Most people did turkey for Christmas but with the way the economy was running turkey was not something easy to find. He had found the chicken at a Vietnamese woman's butcher stand and he was lucky to get it. Plus he didn't care much for turkey; it was always too dry.

He shut the oven door and wheeled over to his long black granite dining table to check how it looked. Dinner was nothing too fancy. He had seasoned the chicken with garlic, lemon and a stash of tarragon he had found from somewhere. There was a bunch of mini potatoes glazed in a lemon onion sauce. And finally there was a large serving of rice pilaf that he made to go along with the red Pinot Grios in his wine cabinet.

His Uncle Jonas would laugh at the meager amount of food Logan had on his table for guests. But Logan wasn't trying to show off like his rich relatives – even though the _servants_ were the ones who actually did all the cooking. And he didn't think Max or her friends were the kind of people who complained about such trivial things.

"You all set?" Bling's voice filtered in behind Logan. He had been there since four to help out if Logan needed it. Although Logan was pretending to be calm and declined Bling's help Bling still hung around and helped out with things that Logan forgot, like setting glasses on the table and turning off his potatoes before they burned. _He's defiantly not as calm as he wants me to believe._

"Yeah I'm set," Logan insisted wheeling his chair around the dining room table. He lit the four stem candles surrounding the table with a black firestick igniter.

"You just seem nervous," Bling stated the obvious and watch Logan turned to him in annoyance.

"I'm not nervous," Logan didn't sound all that convincing. He lit the last candle and went return the firestick to the cutlery drawer just as his rarely used doorbell sounded.

"Sounds like your guests have arrived," Bling said with a smile, trying to get his friend to loosen up. "I'll get it." Before Logan could object Bling headed towards the front door.

Upon opening it he was completely blindsided by the sight of Max in dressed in red satin and black leather. _My god-._ Even her hair looked sexier. _Logan's expression's gonna be priceless._ "Hey Max," Bling had stood in silence for way too long before finally greeting her.

"Hey Bling," Max returned the greeting with a small smile, leaving it at that. She had already seen the way he was observing her. The dress wasn't her typical choice of clothing and obviously everyone else noticed too.

"Boo I hate to break up an interlude but are you gonna let us in before we grow roots to the hardwood?" Cindy's asked from behind Max. She knew her girl looked good but she didn't want to stand out in the hallway forever.

"Sorry," Bling apologized moving aside so Max, Kendra and Cindy could enter the penthouse.

"Wow," Kendra said impressed. This was her first visit to Logan's place. She took in all the woven oriental rugs over sealed hardwood floors, the contemporary art, the huge picture window that gave a breathtaking view of the high-rise district of the city. "This place is gorgeous." She turned back to Max. "I envy you so much at this moment."

Max let the remark drop and turned to Bling with one question: "Where's Logan?"

Bling looked around for a moment, expecting to see Logan in the kitchen checking on dinner. A puzzled expression came across his face when he couldn't find him. "He's around here somewhere."

"Probably got cold feet hosting such an elite party," Max kidded lightly.

"With that dress you're wearing Max I wouldn't blame him," Bling returned seeing Max's expression shift to something that would be a blush if she blushed. But since she didn't it was just a soft dilating of her eyes.

Kendra looked pleased by Bling's compliment. "See I told you that was the right thing to wear. You are _so _not going to regret this." She was feeling extremely giddy. The beautiful space of the penthouse, the warm smells of food coming from the kitchen, it was all such a far cry from their run down apartment that she couldn't help but be up in the clouds.

"I think I'm regretting it already," Max said after seeing the starry look in Kendra's eyes. She just hopped she wouldn't try to play matchmaker tonight. What with it being Christmas and the ideals of 'magic' and 'miracles' it was all too expectant and overdone for her taste.

"You shouldn't," Logan's voice finally came into the group. "You look great." He was by the barstools next to his partition counter top. He had gone into his linen closet to find some clean cloth napkins. But after opening the door he had realized that he already _had_ napkins on the table and maybe he really _was_ a bit nervous. Although why should he be? It was just dinner with Bling, Max and Max's friends.

But just now as he came out of the hallway and spotted Max he suddenly went from nervous to winded at the sight of her. Red was always a color he thought suited her well. And tonight the red dress over those leather pants she was wearing suited her so well he thought he was going to have a heart attack.

"Glad you finally decided to show," Max stated with a smile. "Being fashionably late to your own party isn't a plus." While Logan was checking her out she was silently doing the same. He had on light camel colored boot cut Dockers and an untucked black silk dress shirt. Three of the shirts top buttons were undone as well as the cuffs of the sleeves. The entire combination of clothing with his normal stubble, spikey hair and wire frame glasses made him look very sexy indeed.

Even Cindy seemed to notice. "For a rich white boy, you sure got style."

Logan shrugged into a dry smile. "Coming from such a diva of style that means a lot." He had always liked Cindy even when she was wary of him. She was very in your face, but she was a loyal kind person underneath all her attitude.

"You didn't have to waste the model image on us," Max teased, sensing that Logan could right now go into a 'Vogue' photo shoot and everyone would believe he worked there. "There are plenty of catwalks out there."

"I could say the same thing about you Max," Logan returned gracefully, sliding into the charismatic rhythm of charm he was famous for. "Though I don't think the catwalks are ready for that kind of fire just yet." He came out of the obscured corner he had been sitting in and wheeled over to her. A warm smile was on his face when he finally got close enough to her to look her directly in the eyes. "Merry Christmas," he would have kissed her except he felt awkward asking her to bend low to his level so he could instigate it. "Thanks for coming."

Max returned the smile. "A free meal can't be turned down." She all but saw Logan wince at her choice of words. He hated her thinking of him as nothing but a meal ticket; and though she was kidding it sounded cold. "And the free but very worthwhile company is also a plus." She added on that last bit gracefully, softening her eyes to a level of sincerity that let him know she wasn't joking around anymore.

Max's statement eased Logan's tension and he turned to the other two women with a hospitable gaze. "Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes, and it's part of the Cale tradition to offer the guests a drink while they wait. Actually it's a tradition that dates back to my Uncle Jonas who looked for any opportunity to escape reality with a Brandy Snifter. But I think it qualifies on this occasion." He gave Kendra and Cindy a lighthearted smile to let them know they were welcome.

"I'll take mine at dinner," Cindy said. "No sense in getting faded before the main event."

"Same here," Kendra agreed. "I'd rather wait to savor fine wine when I've got ample food in my stomach."

"Max?" Logan asked turning to her, trying to keep his pulse at a normal rate. Her tanned toned shoulders were displayed in full view by the cut of the dress she was wearing, as was her smooth neckline and an ample view of the valley beneath it. She was so beautiful it should have been illegal.

"No thanks I'll wait," Max returned, getting the distinct impression Logan was checking her out. Not that she minded.

"Then have a seat and relax a bit until everything's set." Logan offered. "And I'll go check on the chicken."

"Need a hand?" Max offered.

"Yeah," Logan answered, "You can set out the wine." He wheeled himself into his kitchen with Max following a few inches behind him. Her boots made a soft 'clunk' on the linoleum tiles as she walked.

Logan headed over to the stainless steel oven while Max ducked down under the island in the kitchen to retrieve the Pinot Grios Logan had laid out on top of his wine rack.

The chicken would need another few minutes before serving and after Logan had come to that conclusion and shut the door he caught sight of Max's backside facing him as she kneeled down to retrieve the wine. Her back was smooth and tan and the cut of the dress allowed a soft 'U' of flesh to be revealed.

Max stood back up with the wine bottle in her hand, feeling like someone was looking at her. But when she turned back around to Logan he was conveniently checking out the dining table. But Logan was being a terrible liar at the moment because the table was flawless.

"Thanks for inviting my girls," Max said, her voice forcing Logan to turn back to look at her.

"Not a problem," he returned casually, as if he hadn't been scoping her out. "I'm just glad you all could make it." He shifted his gaze up to her hairline, taking in the bold sterility of the butterfly bandages against her rich skin. "You doing alright with that?" he nodded with his chin to let her know what he was talking about.

"No big dealio," Max insisted, "Takes more then one tiny head lac to slow me down." She remained silent for a moment, like she didn't know what to say. But a few seconds later Logan realized that she did know what to say; she was just having a hard time getting the words out. "Kendra kinda believes that you were all protective of me today cause of the Sector Cop mess. Just givin' you a heads up in case she decides to restate it over dinner." Max sounded like she was discussing a battle tactic with a member of her unit. "She's obsessed with that whole 'knight in shining armor' deal."

"I'm not Lancelot Max, but her assumptions aren't entirely off the ball." Logan stated this calmly enough but he was mentally cursing himself for using chivalry of all things to explain his relationship with Max. Like she was a damsel in distress that needed saving.

"Logan, Lancelot was a knight and you're a cyborjournalist on the DL," Max reminded bluntly picking up both the wine bottle and the metal cork opener in her right hand.

"Oh right," Logan returned. "Thanks for enlightening me on that fact."

"Plus I heard for all of Lancelot's glories he wasn't the prettiest guy in the world. And that kinda description just doesn't apply with you." She looked him dead in the eye when she said the last part, completely serious.

A beat of silence hung in the air before Logan spoke up, having to clear his throat for a second. "You should take the wine out to the table now, before it gets too warm." _There's already plenty of things that are too warm in here as it is._

XXXXXXX

7: 10 PM

"I would say that was a good spread but I'd be lyin'. That was one of the best friggin things Original Cindy's had in a _long_ time." Cindy settled herself on Logan's long black leather sofa beside Kendra who looked as equally satisified as her.

"Ditto," Kendra agreed whole-heartedly leaning back into the plush leather of the sofa. "If Max ever gets tired with Logan I'm _defiantly _moving in."

"You better not be plannin' nothing girl cause no one's messin' with this shack up so long as I'm breathing." Cindy returned.

"Relax Cindy I'm just speaking hypothetically," Kendra defended softly. The effects of the good food and superb wine were taking its affect on her and she was now fully loosened up.

Bling came around the sofa, having overheard their conversation. "Then _hypothetically_ we can assume Max appreciated this evening as much as you two." He dropped into the matching leather chair opposite the couch; his navy blue cargo pants rustling against the seat, as he got comfortable.

"No boo that's not an assumption that's a _fact_," Cindy corrected Bling. "Max may be a hard ass momma but every female appreciates it when her man is willing to go all out for her."

Bling laughed dryly. "I'll have to remember that the next time I go out." He sipped on a cup of coffee he had swiped from the kitchen while Logan was loading a few dishes into his dishwasher.

The small Christmas tree was fully decorated with off-white ball ornaments a few red bows and a string of white lights that glowed steadily against the backdrop color of evergreen. There was no topper at the high bow, but it still was a pretty sight to watch.

Cindy caught Bling looking at the tree and she shifted her body to gaze at it as well. She hadn't decorated a tree since she moved out of her grandmother's house. Jam Pony paid cheap and Black Market retailers always over priced anything that was reminiscent of the Post-Pulse era. It was too hard of a world now to just sell Christmas trees on a corner lot. The last tree Cindy had seen went for fifty dollars a foot and the people who chipped in to buy it ended up using it as kindling to heat their entire tiny shantytown.

"I've always loved Christmas," Kendra commented out of nowhere. She was also now looking at the tree intently. The lights were mesmerizing, like stars in an eerily desolate night.

"Use to be Christmas was too commercial," Bling began, talking to Kendra while still looking at the tree. "Advertisers bombarding people with cheap holiday sales and ultimate shopping. Now with the Pulse and everything Christmas is the last thing on people's mind." Bling spoke in such cruel honesty that he couldn't believe what he was saying, remembering a time when it was different this. "Santa Claus got thrown out to die a long time ago for survival."

"I'll admit Christmas can't buy food but I'll take the break from corruptness of the city anytime," Kendra still defended the holiday. It was one of the few things she would always have as a reminder of the way things were back when America was a prominent country. She turned away from the tree for a second, as if she was embarrassed for having said her thoughts out loud.

No one said anything because there was nothing to say. Max quietly stepped behind her friends on the couch, observing their quiet mood. "Must've been quite a conversation."

Cindy turned her head to face her. "We was just discussing when and Logan are gonna get your Christmas miracle on boo."

Cindy's remark lightened the mood and – as always – Max took the offensive. "I think the real miracle here is gonna be getting you off that topic of conversation."

"If you would just admit to the reality of your relationship with Logan this conversation would've been _so_ over a long time ago Max," Kendra said with that same pleasing smile that made Max wary before.

"No it's over _now_ Kendra," Max returned. She didn't invite her friends over so they could gang up on her. She looked to Bling for help but the man was looking at her the same way as her girls. _Why do I suddenly feel out numbered?_ "What I have with Logan is something that I'm really only wanting to discuss with realists, not hot and heavy dreamers."

"Good," Cindy stated matter-of-fact. "Cause you're not gonna get anyone more real then us suga." She went on before Max could interrupt. "And the reality of the dealio is you've had it bad for that boy since Day One and ain't nothing you can tell Original Cindy to change her mind."

Max could hear Logan's wheelchair rolling into the living room and she willed Cindy to shut up, not in the mood to do damage control tonight.

Logan looked from Cindy, to Kendra, to Bling and finally to Max. None of them had said a word but he felt like he missed something important.

"Thanks for dinner Logan," Kendra spoke up smiling at him.

"You're welcome," Logan returned courteously. "I'm glad you all enjoyed it."

"Enjoy doesn't even begin to describe it boy," Cindy chimed in.

Logan gave a dry brushy laugh and wheeled himself closer to the sofa so that he was now at the right side of it. He set the brakes on his chair and turned to face the group. "I don't know how you all feel about gift giving being mistaken for charity. But I made a few phone calls to some friends of mine and pulled a certain loud-mouthed Sector Cop off the beat. No doubt he has buddies who are more then willing to take his place mistreating women but maybe now that they know they can get busted for it they won't try to be so bold next time."

Logan had done this for all of them. He knew of the way some Sector Cops established themselves as self made big deals and getting them off the street was a small, but worthwhile victory. He knew that he had done this for Cindy, Kendra, and all the other women that some idiot in a police uniform thought they could mishandle just because they wanted too. But all those facts swirling around in his head came down to only one true reason of why he had chosen tonight to get rid of the low life. And she was currently standing there giving him a look that made him nervous because he couldn't read it.

"If Logan Cale managed to get some well cemented idiot out of his free fondling job then _that's_ your Christmas Miracle." Max didn't come right out and throw her arms around Logan with a heart-felt 'thank you' That's not the way she did things. But a smile tugged at her lips after she finished talking.

"Defiantly," Cindy agreed completely. She had enough of slime ball Sector Cops trying to get up on her. And the fact that she knew Logan had given this particular Cop a smack down made her feel even better cause she knew he did it for Max. _If those two aren't shacked up then I'm going to wake up a heterosexual in the morning._ "Thanks boo."

"Merry Christmas I guess," Logan returned. "Although I don't think that really counts as a gift."

"You have _no_ idea how much that counts Logan," Kendra defended, only a few seconds away from launching herself at him in gratitude. She knew what Cop Logan had fired and she _hated_ going by his stop on the rare chances she had a gig for translating for Japanese businessmen. Having him off the street gave her one less thing to worry about.

Her honest sincerity made Logan smile. He was glad his little job went over so well. Everyone had been so in tuned to his words that the large manila envelope in his lap went unnoticed. Logan picked it up, turning his chair towards Max. "Since tonight is all about giving non-conventional gifts I think it's only suiting to continue." He held out the envelope. "Max."

Max walked over to him with quiet footfalls. "You shouldn't have killed yourself shopping," she took the envelope from him and rattled, trying to make it give something away. "To heavy to be cash."

"Girl just open it before Original Cindy does it for you," Cindy threatened lightly wanting Max to get on with it.

Max didn't comment and picked the clasp that sealed the envelope. She pulled the manila flap back and a bunch of loose papers slid out into her hands.

"Dish Max," Kendra insisted. "We need to get a second hand thrill."

Max stared at the papers in her hands. A large red stamp bore the word: 'Classified' in a diagonal across the middle of the first page. The emblem of the Department of Defense sat in one corner. And in the other rested a monkey holding a scepter – the Manticore Symbol. The document was official, a medical transcript dating back to May of 2000. The rest of the page contained the findings of a physical exam given by base doctors to a woman. The last name of the woman had been deleted but the first name _Rene_ was still visible. The file went on to list that the woman was nineteen-years-old when she entered Manticore on a program coded as MBX-32-5374, a breeding program; and that in November of the same year a procedure coded 9992 (normal C-section) was performed to deliver a female X class barcode string 32960073452.

It took Max's brain a few seconds longer then her eyes to process what she was looking at. Logan had found a file on her birth mother – and she had no idea how the hell he managed to do it. Light started pouring into her vision and she felt like she was going to hit the floor.

Obviously she almost did because a second later Bling had both his arms around her to prevent her ungraceful slide. "Whoa Max, you okay?"

"I just have a headache," Max returned quickly, pulling away from Bling's grasp. But she still felt him place an arm around her to guide her to Logan's sofa. Once she sat down Bling released his hold on her, but his eyes still showed concern. "Do you feel dizzy or anything?"

Max shook her head. "It's nothing that some aspirin won't fix." She kept her tone calm so Bling would know she really wasn't that bad.

"Girl you sure you're okay?" Original Cindy's reached Max's ears. She gazed at her friend worriedly, looking just like Kendra who was standing beside her. Both had forgotten wanting to see what Logan had given Max and were now focusing all their attention on their friend.

"It's a headache not a brain tumor," Max reassured her over worried friends. She closed her eyes for a second and when she reopened them she saw Logan's scooting himself next to her on his couch.

The information Logan had just given Max was a stretch to find let alone duplicate. Several times his computer warned him of being kicked off by the security mainframe. But he had found enough snags in the firewalls and encryption to go around the system. The file he had gotten off of Mancticore was enough of a crime to have him placed under military arrest or executed. But he had done things of this nature countless times before. And he knew he had done the right thing. Max deserved to know who her own mother was, even if she almost lost it after seeing the file.

She didn't look at him, and he was left to wonder what chain-of-thought she had trapped herself in. He placed a lone hand on her knee and the contact was enough to turn her head and trap him with a steady gaze. "When were you plannin' on telling me?" Her words were not angry, not sad, just strong, seeking.

"You were just talking about Christmas miracles and I thought yours was long overdue," his voice was soft like hers so as not to be overheard. Her friends weren't privy to her past and he knew that now was not the time to tell them. His hand remained stationary on her leg.

A bit of mirth entered her brown-eyed gaze. "I'm not a miracle kinda girl." She was never one to believe that magic just happened out of thin air. 'Miracle' was a fancy word for being repaid by for hard work.

"Forget the miracle then," Logan returned quietly. "How about just dealing with what's really there?" He looked at the folded file in her lap.

Max fixed Logan with a look that answered his question. He remained still, but a few seconds later she slid her head down to rest on the edge of his shoulder and he let it stay there, not doing anything more then squeezing her knee with his hand.

MAX (VOICE OVER): _"I never celebrated Christmas like everyone else. I just don't see the value in believing that everything will be okay because of one day. It's not like unwrapping presents and singing carols will make the world any less broken tomorrow." _

Bling had come back with aspirin half a minute ago but he set the bottle in the down on the coffee table and gazed at the two on the couch, not saying a word.

MAX (VOICE OVER): _"There's no such thing as a wonderful life. But that's no big deal. I'll just spend today appreciating the reality not the miracle."_

XXXXXXXX

There she is, Christmas - Dark Angel Remixed. Happy Holidays everyone. Feedback is appreciated.

Peace

Mystic


End file.
